Robert Troy (Longford-Westmeath, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I wish to add my voice to the debate. The Minister said he feels the commercial sector can cater for this increase. On what basis does he have that feeling? What economic impact assessment has been carried out on the proposal before the increase was introduced? As Deputy Scanlon said, it is not just a 1.5% today, it comes on top of the 4% increase from last year. In the space of just over 12 months, we have gone from 2% to 7.5% and that will have an effect on small farmers and small businesses, people who are creating jobs and opportunities in rural Ireland and in the regions. Once again, the Government is putting an additional charge on their back. While the Minister is looking to increase the rate by 1.5%, thank God Sinn Féin is not in government because a previous speaker from the party said earlier they want to increase it even further and to put additional charges on the agriculture sector and small businesses. The fact of the matter is that since Fine Gael came into office following the most recent general election, the cost of doing business in this country has become more expensive. We have fallen down the international league table in terms of the cost of doing business. We have also fallen down the league table in terms of competitiveness. That is one of the reasons that has happened. We are out of synch with the transactional tax with other European countries. I am interested to learn what economic impact assessment has been carried out on the proposal.

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